Sonic Headcanons/AU Stuff, because I'm just in the mood and accidentally made a Sonic AU while rewriting the story of Sonic Forces... As ya do.
The anthropomorphic animals in this universe are called "Faunans", because fauna is a colloquial term for the animal life in a place
Sonic grew up in the Christmas Island orphanage starting at age 3 1/2 due to his dad accidentally drowning at sea during a storm they were both in, which laid the groundwork for Labyrinth to give him full blown traumatic aquaphobia
Mighty and Ray became the first two people to successfully catch up to and keep up with the fastest thing alive, leading to the three becoming a trio of little troublemakers
Adding onto the childhood friend angle, the armadillo and flying squirrel are the only people who can call Sonic "Nicky" until Sonic informs Tails of the nickname after Adventure, though the fox keeps it for when they're alone
an 11yo Sonic first went Super as he was falling to Earth after blowing up the Death Egg in Sonic 2, surprising both himself and the 4yo fox piloting the Tornado
The Super Emeralds and thus, the Hyper State are only possible on and above Angel Island, due to the presence of the Master Emerald
Out of all the small animals in the world, Flickys are the most sensitive to Chaos Energy
Combining the previous two, the first person to go Hyper was Mr. Miles "Tails" Prower, sharing the immense energy with four Flickys who followed him and Sonic into the Death Egg
Mania was erased from everyone's memory in a last ditch effort by Heavy Magician to lay in wait to eventually defeat Sonic forever. Her plan worked until (now 12)Sonic got sent into when he was supposed to be 17 and also dead(?), awakening everyone's memories upon finding one of the Phantom Ruby copies Ivo made. This is also why the Present Sonic of the time was able to act like he hadn't been tortured, due to the sudden rush of "Hey wait... I've seen that thing before!"
The Chaos Emeralds are sentient, beginning to appear to their unofficial protector in his dreams as a Blue Ricky, Magenta Pocky, Red Pecky, Cyan Flicky, Yellow Picky, Green Cucky/Clucky/Cooky/whatever the hell you wanna call the chickens, and a Gray Rocky in between Adventure 1 and 2
As I slowly descend into madness from making all this from just wanting to rewrite Sonic Forces, I've added some extra bells and changed some of the whistles. And since I think these deserve more than just a simple mention, they're gonna get quick summaries here.
(In between Scrapnik arc and Frontiers) Dark Arm Ops: Two months after some freak meteor shower, Vanilla starts getting suspicious of the blue hedgehog's behavior and lack of any egg-esque scientists. Upon hearing her little girl and Ms. Rose seemingly get beat up, she turns to The Chaotix Detective Agency for help. What is going on with Team Sonic? Who's that strange hedgehog they run into in Soleanna, why did he only show up after Charmy found a Chaos Emerald, and why does he look like Shadow? And where is Robotnik in all this?
Inspired by SONIC.EXE, this story has Vanilla taking the main role, plenty of silly(and not-so-silly) detectives, time loops set up through an alternate take based off this headcanon by @autisticshadowthehedgehog (which are to be explained at a future date), and the return of Mephiles from Non Existence.
(After Sonic's 18th Birthday, but before TMoStH) Lune Kingdom: While still enjoying the downtime as Amy, Knuckles, and Tails have their solo expeditions, Sonic gets a message from Team Amber that he might want to come join them exploring a little island kingdom not far from Christmas Island. Upon getting there, it turns out the royal family could be in need of some assistance, as the Queen went slightly mad, Crown Princess Sonia feels drowned in work, the leader of the local street kids seemed to know something about them, and they want him to talk to some star nosed mole they call the Oracle? And here he thought Blaze had it hard being royalty...
I knew I'd integrate elements of Sonic Underground, and that includes Sonic's family members there. Aleena, Sonia, and Manic all have their part to play, along with the Oracle of Delphius(who gets a real species this time, even if it's with some water trauma for Mr. Needlemouse(Fun fact! Star nosed moles are semi-aquatic!)). Giving the role of Sonic's companions to Mighty, Ray, and Honey just felt right. The latter two have known him the longest, after all.
(Time Jump Fair After TMoStH) Angel Island Fight: Figuring the hedgehog and kitsunefox will be easier to kill off than Dr. Robotnik, Starline decides to try and overrule a choice made by the Chaos Emeralds themselves and supplant the 18yo speedster by getting Surge his role as their guardian. How will Sonic and Tails feel upon learning the platypus has found these two? Will Surge and Kitsunami stick with Starline, or throw him off the floating paradise? On a scale of 1 - 10, just how ticked is the 18yo echidna who lives on this soon-to-be battleground?
I feel like Starline didn't get to do much before his passing(which I'll get to). I mean, he vaguely worked with Robotnik during Metal Virus, tried to kidnap Tails that one time, did kidnap Belle, then broke Surge and Kit and then, BOOM, he's dead. So, he gets to do more! And, we get to see Sonic and Tails know their foes up close and personal, with someone getting angry from what's said as he walks back from Hidden Palace with Knuckles to go support his little brother.
(Time Jump Far After Angel Island Fight) Rush Reef: All of Team Sonic find themselves in hot water when they all end up sent to Blaze's dimension once more. After checking in with the Princess and tanukiraccoon pirate, it appears a trip down to Demon Island to find the Operator's Citrine is needed before Eggman and Egglock(Eggplant warlock, filling the role of Eggman Nega, who is fully Silver's nemesis). But can Sonic take the plunge this time? And considering Knuckles, who lives this far below?
I feel like there needs to be a full Team Blaze, along with a counterpart to Angel Island. Thus, Demon Island and its stressed, scared, oppressed last original inhabitant, Lotus the Sea Sheep(Sea sheeps are rare animals that photosynthesize like plants, as apposed to a mammal who lays eggs). Plus, a Sonic story that's mostly underwater is a rarity!
(Time Jump Fair after Rush Reef) Magic Show of Steel: Wanting a break, Sonic accepts an invite from Espio to join him in Casino Night for a week, because even with the violent reveal of the mayor as a badnik, business still booms. Especially for the city's favorite illusionist, Missy the White Rabbit. Yet, something in her performance rubs the hedgehog the wrong way. Can he, Amy, Shadow, Honey, and Espio figure out just what's happening before they all disappear? And just how close is a certain mercenary group?
Heavy Magician is my favorite Hard Boiled Heavy, and considering my plans for her in my Forces rewrite I'm still working on, I had to give her an arc all her own. Plus, we never get just the Speed characters interacting(and I want more interaction between Sonic and Team Chaotix in general). Plus, pretty lights and a possible Phantom Ruby fight between Magi and Infinite/Dante? Writing, become easier!
(Time Jump Far After Magic Show of Steel) Story Whirlwind: Upon noticing his primary fighter has chosen to fight him more than the blue blur and an impulsive stealing of two things Sonic really cares for, he starts getting paranoid. But, how much power can a book of fairy tales give? And how hard can it be to keep a cat that likes fishing and a government robot in captivity be? Let alone setting up Sonic's own friends to finish him off, and Kit's secret assignment...
Starline's death was too impassioned and having him get killed in a building caving-in was a cop-out. Fight me!
In reality, I really think just having Starline get crushed takes some of the joy out of seeing him stopped. It was just thrown into the Surge arc so they didn't have to bother with what we was doing anymore. Thus, a total change in scenario. And, an actual culprit. But, I think you'd need to ask the Emeralds. Make sure they aren't letting someone channel their darker sides though, or you'll meet Starline's shameless killer face-to-face. ;)
That's all for now. I have more, but I think they should get a part two to this, so I don't overload the post.
Amy and her parents live in Station Square, though both Secea and Murve are less than happy with their daughter's habits of chasing a boy and getting into trouble. Her uncle Bramble thinks she's got a better head on her shoulders than her parents over these actions
Cream has 9 sisters(Waffle, Margarine, Frittata, Muffin, Éclair, Scone, and Biscuit, who are all older. Coffee, who's Cream's older twin, and Pancake), though they all live with her dad, whom Vanilla divorced(because Cone specifically singled out Cream and neglected/physically abused her).
After the Metal Virus is cured, Team Chaotix heads off quickly to visit Vector's folks. Vector worries his parents are going to tell him off for sometimes hiding the bills from the IRS with help from Rouge
After the events of Chaotix, Mighty and Ray ended up making a team with up-and-coming fashion designer, Honey. After Neo Metal is stopped and Sonic mentions team names to his old friends, due to coloration, the armadillo, flying squirrel, and cat decide to name themselves "Team Amber"
Super Sonic's quills are a mix of the "standing straight up" and Shadow's. The top three float, the bottom three bend upwards
After the two Storybook games, both Super states(positive and negative) are affected. "Regular" Super Sonic gains the pointed shoes and red forehead gem/possible bindi(like Blaze) of Excalibur Sonic, whereas Dark Super Sonic(which doesn't happen until after Darkspine happens) gains a small lick of fire on the chest(signalling how close the Flame of Judgement was to burning out) and gaining a ring pattern on the upper middle quill and lower side quills. Top has purple, left has red, and right has green, all glowing to contrast again the dark blue, near midnight color the rest of his fur turns
Since she's originally from the Chaos Dimension, Blaze has a Super State outside of Burning Blaze. In reverse, the Sol Emeralds(or how they're going to be called in this AU, the Elemental Citrines) would not work for Sonic
During the Black Arm invasion, Shadow ended up giving some of his blood to Rouge, Amy, Cream, and Big, which gives them minor immunity to the neurotoxin on the Black Comet
Due to being a hive mind of sorts, Black Arms don't have blood types, hence why their blood is much more acidic than Earth blood. Shadow's original donor on the other hand had A- blood. Due to these two factors, Shadow essentially has O- blood
Solaris was killed by Sonic, Shadow, and Silver, rather than Elise. They also when back 25 years rather than just 10. With Solaris' candelabra, Shadow blew out the left arm, Silver the right, and Sonic the final, full Flame. Silver wished them good well before all 3 return to their times
Sonic AU Things 3 & Knuckles, because yes, I have more
Knuckles first ran into the native Chao of Angel Island at age 2, managing to become fluent in Chaoese. He only learned English(for lack of what language to put) from the Master Emerald(Tikal) in dream lessons
55 years before SA2, Gerald went to Angel Island(This was during an odd period when Angel Island was at ground level, yet not after all the echidnas died. In relation to Knuckles, he hadn't been laid yet), getting the idea to make Shadow a Faunan from the mural in Hidden Palace, as making what looked like a heroic savior of the world would definitely make sure no one ever forgot the name "Robotnik"
Along his hubristic train of thought, Gerald went to Little Planet(because it's a magic satellite that seemingly teleports above Never Lake for a month(I'm pegging it as March) before disappearing for the rest of the year) to get DNA for Shadow's original donor
Like in Sonic Underground, Aleena is Sonic's mother and Sonia and Manic are his siblings, as the three are triplets. However, Manic, as well as the triplet's father, Dewen, are porcupines instead of hedgehogs. Also like in the show, they're royalty, but of the Lune(to contrast against Blaze, who's princess of the SOL Kingdom. In a similar vein, Blaze's dimension's counterpart to Soleanna would be named after the moon)
Also in the vein of making Sonic and Blaze equal yet opposite, this headcanon by knockabiller on DA is canon, with the only caveats being that that Jet is older than Blaze, meaning he's aged up from canon from 14 to 15, and there's a younger sister, who I'm naming Pyre
As for why this dimension is like this? Blame Solaris. Blaze was originally from the timeline created when Iblis was released when the Egg Carrier crashed, born close to a year before Silver as a natural, yet much weaker pyrokenetic. When Silver sealed her and Future!Iblis into another dimension, that caused an entire change in the timeline placing Blaze into the royal family, and making it mirror the Chaos Dimension. Since he was removed from time(though how it went down in specifics is for another post), Solaris decided to entertain himself in Non Existence by removing his counterpart, the moon and space deity Lunorin, from existence as well and started seeing just how "equal but opposite" this could get. Since both aren't the best at understanding mortals(even if Solaris vaguely understood his "death" was meant out of both mercy and necessity), Blaze gets to suffer just as bad as Sonic. This whole thing is based off how Sonic 06 was meant to be set before Rush, with it being Blaze's origins
Metal Sonic isn't powered by an animal. Rather, he's the only Badnik to still be powered by a seed from the Little Planet flowers. One from Stardust Speedway, in fact
Aside from Shadow and Sonic, both Knuckles and Cream would also be able to use the 3 Chaos Powers(Control, Spear, and Blast). Sonic's are all wind themed/based(Control give him some wind, as if he traveled through/as it(ala John Egbert windifying), Spear is wind sharp enough to cut, Blast is a heatless explosion), Knuckles has more ground-based(Control give minor bits of erosion and growth, Spear is crystaline, Blast is much like the eruption of a volcano), and Cream, having very high levels of Chaos Energy due to hanging around at least two Chao since she was 3, has them plant themed(Control actively leaves flowers where the uses was and goes, with the amount of emeralds used speeding up how fast they bloom and and how long they live, Spear being rather like Vine Whip from Pokémon, and Blast acting like a mini dust devil made of pollen)
